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Friday, February 26, 2010

DIY: End Table Reveal

What better way to celebrate a Friday than with our first DIY project, as a married couple, reveal! But, before I show you the final product I'm going to break down the purchases we made to recreate an old firend.1. Minwax Wood Stain in Ebony: $4.35
2. Minwax Polyurethane Finish: $4.50
3. Foam pads, foam brush and latex gloves: $5.00
4. Decorative Wicker balls: $4.00 each
5. Lamp Shade: $14.67
6. Votive: 99 cents each
Total Cost: $20.63
Side note: We used one of our wedding gift cards to Target for the lamp shade, decorative balls, and votives so in the end we only paid $6.47 for all the things purchased at Tar-jet! O yea!
We are so thrilled with our cheap investment that I can't wait to show you! So, here is the grand finale! Please let us know what you think!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Bull's Eye for Tar-jet!

I love browsing the aisles of Target! The accessories, hygiene products, clothes (anywhere you can get an Isaic Mizrahe dress on the cheap is, without a doubt, my friend!), pet aisle (I just like to shop for future reference), entertainment, Method cleaning products ( If you haven't heard of my love for Method, check it out here) and of course the Home center. I went browsing around a few days ago and wanted to share my finds! I ran around Target (by myself, I backed out of going to see Shutter Island with J and his friend, Chase at the last minute.) all giddy with my camera, snatching pictures of all my favorite items! Yes, I was getting odd looks from the other shoppers and the store clerks...
I love wicker baskets. Adore them actually, and if there is anything Josh and I appreciate more than baskets it's basket's with lids, for storage of course. If you haven't heard us complain about our need for more storage check it out here and here. I thought these would be a great addition tucked away under an end table or a sofa table. Blankets and extra pillows could be stored inside and snatched out for convenient usage. Side note: Have you noticed how inconvenient it is to spell convenient or convenience...I have.I loved these! Especially the paisley! I have been seeing these around a lot of stores for the past couple of years and I have been reading about them on a lot of design blogs recently. Target also had some made out of wicker...you'll be seeing those soon :)
I love glass!! The next few items are all glass pieces that really grabbed my eye! These two hurricanes were two pretty to pass up! Plus, their...wait for it...cheap! The larger one is $12.99 and the smaller one was $6.99. I loved the domed look at the top and the rounded base, plus...again...I love glass!
I thought these little dudes where so fun! I hope to own one eventually! We really love us some tea, so I try to experiment and make different types of tea and have them around all of the time! Don't worry we supplement our tea drinking with plenty of water! Anywho, one of the Christmas party's I attended used these to serve the orange juice at the brunch, I have loved them ever since!

Last but defiantly not least! Glass votive! Big deals come in small sizes right? Something like that...Anywho, Josh and I love candles we always have them lighting up the crib in the evening. When I saw these beauties for only .99 cents I almost had a heart attack! I snatched two of them and gleefully skipped to my car, not really but I wanted too!

When you guys are browsing Tar-jet or any other great store do you find items that literally make your heart leap for joy? What are they and most importantly where are they? Please share!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Is my laundry room safe?

J and I have had many humorous moments living here, we love it! First, down the hall we have a neighbor who loves...LOVES R&B music, particularly Brian Mcknight. Don't get us wrong, if anyone has an appreciation for R&B music, we do! Often our neighbor we'll announce his presence in the building by singing at the top of his lungs. Usually a song about dedicating his love to a woman he's scorned, we crack up everytime. The poor guy doesn't even know that he has a terrible voice. I just know one day we will be watching American Idol and there will be our neighbor, singing his little heart out!
We also have neighbors that are Hispanic and are always playing music! We laugh because we don't understand a word but we know they are getting down to the tunes in their apartment. Strange side note: They also leave all of their shoes in the hall. Strange.
But the strangest part of our living community is the laundry room. It's in a gutted bottom level apartment and the machines aren't up to par. Plus, to wash your clothes it will cost you a whopping $1.50 per load to wash and the same to dry. It stinks! Since I have reverted back to paying for clean clothes I have been keeping my eye out for a dream washer and dryer! Josh and I won't be purchasing one for a long time, but it is nice to shop!This would be a nice addition in the future! I saw this spectacular piece of modern technology in Home Depot last Sunday, I didn't have time to stand and stare then so here are a few fun facts about this hopeful member of the Blackman clan.
1. Maytag Performance Series 4.1
2. Super size capacity
3. Clean washer cycle with Affresh ( I really don't know what this is but it sounds awesome.)
4. Sensor-controlled suds detection
5. Using this on fabrics will eliminate 99.9% of household bacteria
Is it not amazing! I think so! When J and I are 45 we hope to own one of these, maybe a little sooner! Fingers crossed! For now we will gratefully keep our sketch laundry room and our quirky neighbors!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

DIY: Staining an End Table

On Sunday, J and I began a DIY Project that made us feel like we were on cloud 9, literally. We ventured out into the world of furniture staining. Josh and I have never stained furniture, we've painted, never stained. This made for a new and interesting DIY project for us. About a week ago we decided that this would be a great first project as hubs and wifey so we headed over to Home Depot to pick our poison. We went with Minwax Wood Finish in ebony and Minwax Quick Drying Polyurethane for a shiny finish. Each product rounded out to be about $5.00, we went with a small amount of stain because we only had one table, which made for a cheapo DIY. After purchasing a foam brush, a pack of application pads and latex gloves we were all set to stain! Bring it on!
J began by giving the table a good and manly sanding. It took him a good 20 minutes to get the table in staining condition. After he sanded he headed out to a friends and left me to do the staining; but don't worry he came back and applied the second coat and did a much better job than I did.The table needed a really good sand down, which J did very patiently. After the sanding I cleaned all the excess off of the table (all part of the process) then began applying the first coat of stain.
After the application of the first coat we waited 4 hours for the it to dry...that's right 4...it seemed like 40. After 4 hours Hubs finally made it home and applied the second coat for me. If I have learned anything about J this week it is he has an excellent talent for applying wood stain. He did a much...much better job than I did, honestly I think he liked it just a little.After applying the second coat, which you can see was magnificently done, we plugged in the fan from our bedroom and waited 8 hours before applying the polyurethane finish. After the finish was applied we realized we had learned a big lesson about would stain.
Lessons we learned about staining wood:
1. It is a long process but the end result is wonderful.
2. Boys are better at it than girls.
3. It stains your skin...literally...one of my toe nails looks awful because of the stuff!
4. Breathing in the fumes for close to 20 hours makes you feel real good!
5. Breathing in the fumes for about 20 hours leaves you with a pretty bad hang-over.
6. I should of called my sister for advice.
7. It takes a little longer than they say on the label for the finish to dry.
8. We should have worn masks!
9. The "stickiness" and the "dots" will go away.
10. Waiting to stain a table outside in warm weather would have been the wiser choice.
Even though we learned our lesson or should I say lessons? We LOVE the out come! Big Reveal coming soon!

Friday, February 19, 2010

What's yours' really isn't mine.

J and I have been married for a little over a month and we are loving it. Honestly, we are not lying! We are still settling in and learning "how to live life together" as J would say. As we are embarking on this thing called "married life" I have noticed a lot of separations in our house; a lot of His' and Hers' if you will. It's actually funny how quircky J and I are about our certain...places, items, and belongings that are distinctly mine and distincly his!

1. Our coat rack- J distinctly uses one side and I distinctly use the other. Funny? Btw, see J's new hat? V-day present!

2. Towels-J uses white, I use tan. We decided this was a better match because I have make-up residue on my face when I get out of the shower. Hence, no make-up stains on our soft, white towels. (J loves them) Side note: J and I are totally cool with this staying a personal use only thing. Using the same towel, not our style.

3. Coffee Table Books- Mine, can you guess it? The Visual Miscellaneum is mix and match of random facts, charts, maps, numbers, recipes, etc. designed by a graphic designer in a new, often times funny and interesting way. Josh? His book is the 50th Anniversary of Sports Illustrated, which actually was a gift from me, should of got an Anne Levobitz book...just kidding! Maybe...
4. Our loofahs- J stuck to the very masculine, black (I really tried to beef this up because I wasn't sure if it is consider "metro" to use a loofah); while I chose a very girlie turquoise loofah in the shape of flower.
5. Tooth brushes-They both look the same, but we DEFINITELY do not share.

6. Daily Tray- J and I drop our keys, iPods, phones, wallets and change in this tray...but again, he has his and I have mine. We're happy that way, except when I sometimes put my stuff in J's part of the tray; he corrects me...lovingly!
7. Thermoses- Last but not least our coffee thermoses! J and I love our coffee in the morning; our mugs sit right next to the coffee pot and every morning we fill them on our way out the door. Well actually, we've only been doing that since Sunday because those were our Valentine gifts to each other. J's is the not-so-stainless steel and mine fools the eye into thinking I've bought a fresh cup of coffee every morning! Thanks hubs!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Kitchen Joy

If you haven't noticed from this post and this post we live in tinsy-winsy apartment with and itsy-bitsy kitchen. But, over the past month I have learned that joy can come in the smallest and most insignificant things. My kitchen linen drawer. I have a new found adoration for towels and my kitchen towels are some of my fav's! From the regular kitchen towels that are good for wiping counters and drying hands, to the massive monsters that can spread across a whole counter top for drying dishes; kitchen towels have become one of my favorite additions to being a newly-wed. Yes, I know, when you live by yourself you still have kitchen towels...but I love my towels, in my home, with the hubs. Cheesy? O well, I don't care!
There are some other little bonuses that I keep in this drawer, which make it extra special...to me!
The kitchen linen drawer consist of: Sham Wow's; Side note: Every time I get one of these bad boys out (btw, they are awesome, everything they are hyped up to be!) I sing it like Steven Tyler from Aerosmith in a really high-pitched voice "Shham Whhhaaaaaooooooooooooow!" I think it annoys J. Extra Magic Erasers and sponges, the tube for my Dustbuster (it has a "sucker" and a vacuum part, the black thing you see is "the sucker"), my new Martha Stewart kitchen towels (yay!) and my white kitchen towels that I love! Thank goodness for insignificant joys.
Announcement: Edy Rose Hale is one month old today! Ms. Edy Rose, Josh and I can't wait to meet you! You're so pretty we can't even believe it! We're one proud uncle and one proud aunt! We love you!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Order By Numbers: What's under the kitchen sink?

This is one of my favorite parts of our kitchen! It's my domain, anything and everything I could want to keep our crib running smoothly chills here. J knew my love for cleaning supplies long ago, so when we moved in he shared with me all of his Earth loving cleaning supplies from his old apartment, which, by the way, were all full...hmmm? We then proceeded to scrub and clean our little place while listening to his "Ridunkulous and Bald" mix on his iPod (consisting mainly of old, washed-up, R&B artists and songs...it's a lot of fun!). It's one of my favorite memories! I thought I'd share how we fit all of THAT into this tiny cabinet.1. Cleaning supplies: Natural Source glass and all purpose cleaner, great stuff, it comes highly recommended. Disinfecting wipes, Drain-o, leftover cabinet paper (what is pictured above is not the same for all the other cabinets.), trash bags, Swiffer dusters and sponges. Hint: Anything extra J and I accumulated, i.e., extra trash bags, paper towels, Febreeze, cleaning supplies; are pushed to the back of the cabinet. Easy to get to without taking up space towards the front.
2. Extra hand soap: This is going to sounds crazy but, when I open my cabinet and see the new soap waiting to be used, it's exciting. I mean...really...exciting.
3. Recognize this? It's the room spray that inspired me here! Easily accessible.
4. Swiffer Wet Jet Pads: With the kitchen and bathroom floors being so small, a mop is needed twice a week. SWJP are great! Hello Swiffer, Free Promotion! I swear by these little guys, quick and easy!
5. Light Bulbs: Pet peeve #243 - Not being able to find light bulbs. When I was in high school I had an obsession...I mean obsession with accent lighting. I had tons of lamps and lights in my room all giving a certain effect that I thought was awesome. It was always a big joke around the house that I would go and look for light bulbs and my dad would hide them or make me ask him for one just so he could lecture me about leaving my lights on. That whole scenario didn't seem funny then, but it is hilarious now!
6. Dust Buster: I'll be honest, I thought these guys were out of date but sweeping daily has given my Dust Buster and I a time to bond. I stored the charger in the back of the cabinet for easy access and a quick boost of energy for my friend.
7. Kitchen Towel Drawer: I wanted my kitchen towels to stay clean (they are mostly white) and with all of the drawers being taken I need a place to put them. This drawer was one I had left over from college and it works perfectly. All of my towels plus a couple of magic erasers and a drain stopper are here and out of the way.
It's nice to open the kitchen cabinet and not have cleaning supplies, towels, garbage bags and dusters fall everywhere! I have a no chaos policy! That I don't seem to stick to most of the time.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Order by Numbers: Kitchen

Hi, I'm Kelsey and I am a pet peever. "HI KELSEY." I have a ridiculous amount of pet peeves, it's so ridiculous that they are some-what numbered. For example, when a pet peeve happens I will say "Pet Peeve Number: 152" followed by the pet peeve. My numer uno: People not washing their hands after using the restroom, I see it all the time when I'm in the ladies room...a girl will walk out after relieving herself then she will head out the door like it's no biggie. Gross. Really if there is rude, to me, that is rude. Some of my pet peeves like "hands awareness" make sense, but some are bogus. They range from having a dry sink (I don't like water droplets to stay in the sink) to towels being folded in a tri-fold ( you know 1/3 over, followed by the next 1/3). J has started to pick up on some of these and even though he thinks they are absurd and they are, he's coping. But, let's be honest the hubs is a pet peeve-aholic too and some of his are pretty bizarre. I mean bizarre.
Well when we made the big move into our little abode we had to make organizing a major priority. Before we moved in J brought me to see our apartment, I took a mental picture and with that mental picture I knew exactly where everything was going to go. I'm a proud weirdo. Ok, so I took an inventory of how many plates, bowls, cups, mugs, pots and pans, appliances and Tupperware we were going to be moving into this itsy bitsy kitchen. I'm no know-it-all when it comes to organizing or marriage, but I figured I'd share an inside look on what worked for us and maybe it could help you out if you ever get to a big, organization, rock in the road.

1. When J and I got back from the honeymoon one of our first quests was heading out to by groceries, we realized we really had no space for the food we were going to buy. I had an idea that I thought would work and it did, thank goodness! We bought these two silver beverage buckets at Tar-jet to store food. The buckets have been really helpful; especially for food we do not eat everyday. Hint: J and I were in Home Depot the other day during the Presidents Day Sale and they had these buckets for waaaaay cheaper than Tar-jet...wish we would've know, but now you do!

2. This is a cabinet that holds a lot of extra needs. For example, when J and I got our spice rack we were lacking Garlic Salt so we store our small shaker up top, in the "we don't use this a lot cabinet". There is also tea bags, extra coffee, our Hamburger Helper stash, and some Bisquick.

3. The upper cabinets above the sink has one shelf, the bottom shelf holds all of our smaller appliances. Small crock-pot, food processor, some things the hubs can grill a chicken with and at the very end is my Tupperware holder (as seen on TV!). Three different sizes of Tupperware all sit on the same spinner, makes for easy storage and use! On the top shelf we have more Tupperware and our Pyrex dishes.

4. These canisters were bought on the cheap at Wally World. We needed something for sugar, coffee, and flour. We bought these and they work great for storing and keeping all the goodness fresh. Plus, I can actually grab them pretty easily...just a little stretch.

5. Holds all of J's grilling utensils, he was given so many! I'm so happy for spring to come so Bobby Fillet, a.k.a Josh, can get to work!

6. Kitchen Sink Cabinet...cleaning supplies! I'm a nerd whose obsessed with cleaning supplies! I store them all, neatly, here. But, the cabinet runs into the cabinet next to it, so #6 also holds large platters, pitchers, cutting boards and our French press (thanks mom!)

7. A newly installed towel rack! Thanks hubs! Bonus: J and I got a Macy's gift card as a wedding gift and we couldn't be more thankful! Yesterday, we went to the Macy's President's Day Sale and I got a pack of Martha Stewart kitchen towels and a fondue pot with forks! J got a potato masher and some manly glasses (set of 4). We were super stoked!

8. I am thankful for this cabinet! It goes very deep! So deep in fact that it holds all of our pots and pans, our large crock pot, 2 baking dishes and our toaster. Thankfulness can come from anywhere right?

9. Silverware and cooking utensils

10. The good thing about J and mine dishes is that they are extremely storage friendly. The plates stack tightly and the bowls stack...nicely. We could fit all of our plates (salad and dinner) and bowls (soup and salad) in this cabinet.

11. Serving dishes, bowls, platters, etc.

12. Misc. items: Oven mitt, lighter, small hammer, tape

13. Cooking utensils: Measuring cups, spoons, whisk and our new masher call this drawer home.

14. Baking sheets and pans

15. We were blesses with a few beautiful glass pieces, I wanted them to have a safe home. This cabinet is the most out of the way and the least handy. It made sense to put the items that we might not use all the time, but treasure, in these cabinets.

16. Number 15 extended.

Needless to say, everything is in it's place. Whew, thanks goodness!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Inspired by linen spray?

I'm not an artist. I wish I was in the worst way; I love painting, drawing, graphic design and working in a pottery studio 9 months made me adore pottery painting. Still, my "talent" level is low. I would love to be one of those people who can whip out great works in no time...a "Bob Ross" if you will. Sadly, no. I did indulge myself a little in college with my minor being in Studio Art, which gives me the cred's to be a pre-school, kindergarten, special education and 1st-3rd grade art teacher (which I would love). Still our home isn't filled with my own work and it never will be. However, recently I got inspired by a linen spray bottle. Inspiration can come in any package right?My dear friend, Hayley, got me the most wonderful Linen Spray as a wedding gift; I literally use it everyday. One the side of the bottle was the company's stamp, I had been admiring the stamp for a couple of weeks and decided to tweek it and make it my own for a little spice in our very bare living room. After a couple of rough sketches and a couple of size modifications this is what I got.Again. I am NOT an artist. I know it's not great, but I thought this little piece could be a cheap fix to a bear wall. Altogether this work cost J and I:
  • Paper: Free! One of my sketch pads left over from college
  • Pens: Free! Left over from my on-going Sharpie obsession
  • Frame: $9.99 from Tar-jet
  • Grand total: $10.73...technicall it was free, Target gift card, yay!

Josh really liked it, which I was glad. He thought it looked like the label for a beer bottling company, so if we ever decide to bottle our own beer we will use this as our stamp. I don't see that being on the horizon, but you never know.

Cheap art, gotta love it!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

"That's why they call me Frenchie!"

As you can see here J and I have quite the small kitchen! We are still making lots of progress on our little home and really starting to form our own design style! Which I could not be more excited about! When I was living in Little Rock I was introduced to the super cheap and uber fab (you have to look around but uber fab is there) Garden Ridge! Cheap-o items that really make good home design on a budget possible. About two years ago I purchased to French Boards for pictures and notes to put in my small room. Well, once I made the big move to COMO I couldn't leave them behind.
When we moved in and started putting our home together I figured out the perfect place to put my little French Boards...in the kitchen! They can hold recipes, pictures, lists and other important documentation that we will need on a daily basis.

As you can see here, we have pics from our honeymoon, a list of fish names (which...btw, we still don't have the part for our fish tank...what's going on BabyOrb?) and my Carnival card. I think these add a fun, little whim to our kitchen.

Here are our little frenchies in their fullness. They really do add to our kitchen and they make for some really interesting things to look at while I'm stirring Hamburger Helper!

Disclaimer: I wrote this post almost two weeks ago, my computer froze and I wasn't able to finish it. Also, Josh and I have been really busy! I'm volunteering for The Foundation for the Higher Good, a Columbia based non-profit! I'm lovin' it! I apologize for the lack of posts, I'll try to stop being so lame.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Question? What do you eat?

I'm sorry for the lack of bloggings, Monday and Tuesday had a lot of work to be done and I didn't prepare ahead of time! I actually thought about it through out the day, I would think to myself...I didn't get a blog out today and then Tuesday came and I thought the same thing, am I lame? Josh thinks so.
Anyway, right to the point, I have a burning question...Josh keeps complimenting me on my cooking...not because it's overwhelmingly good but because he's shocked I knew how to make some of the things I have made; which makes me happy! But, we aren't heavy eaters, only on certain occasions do we seem to get the itch for a massive meal. Also, we are quick and easy and even easier chefs, no mumbo jumbo, meals that do not require a lot of time or money are our creed. So...what are you guys cooking for dinner? Please share your favorite meal with me and how you make it! I would enjoy the help and I know J would too!